Obama Will Raise College Graduation Rates by Asking Politely

The Timesreports that President Barack Obama will renew his request today for a 60 percent college-graduation rate among young Americans. A decade ago, the U.S. led the world in graduation rates, but according to a College Board study released earlier this month, it currently ranks 12th among 36 developed nations. Ouch! The plan will require 11 million more students to graduate by 2020, which would have the happy side effect of creating more jobs at cap-and-gown factories. (Herff Jones closed a plant this year!)Obama will also use the opportunity to call out conservatives in Congress on their college-hating ways: according to the Times, “advisers to Mr. Obama say he will use it to remind Americans that, with just a few exceptions, Republicans voted overwhelmingly against legislation adopted by Congress earlier this year to revamp the student loan program by eliminating fees paid to banks that act as middlemen. The measure, which also included a major expansion of the federal Pell Grant program, was a central component of the president’s education platform.” (We expect Sarah Palin to offer a quick refudiation of the claim that conservatives don’t care about education—she liked college so much she attended five of them.)